Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

It's really pathetic when you think about it... It's actually a very popular restaurant, rated in the top 5 in the Disneyland Zagat book and is usually pretty busy. Of course it has some off season periods however have you ever walked by PCH Grill during peak season, they have four or so parties, now that's sad.... and they're keeping that open!??

The sushi is amazing (and I've had a lot of good sushi around town), but Yamabuki is something really different to me. Of course these are my opinions I'm sure some have their reservations about the restaurant but I really hope Disney thinks twice.

And being Asian myself it's almost a racially geared move in my eyes, but anyway Disney is well....Disney, 'nuff said.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by AliKzam

There will probably be some mixed oppinions about this, but for sushi I really enjoy Kabuki. They seem to have restaurants all over southern California and they're reasonably priced. Maybe they could put one in DTD sometime?

Barf. Kabuki aka Darth Maul is horrible. I used to think it was decent. But now it's just disgusting.

Originally Posted by Peoplemover Priit

Cool report, even if I'm not a sushi fan. BTW, does anybody know what (if anything) will be replacing it?

Just two posts above yours, I mentioned rumors of a character dining location at Paradise Pier hotel.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by Coheteboy

Barf. Kabuki aka Darth Maul is horrible. I used to think it was decent. But now it's just disgusting.

Yeah, my tastes tend to vary, I guess. I love their BSCR, which I suppose is very un-sushi if you think about it. Actually I wasn't too impressed the last time I went to the Kabuki in Rancho Cucamonga. I always enjoyed the one in Burbank, though.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by AliKzam

Yeah, my tastes tend to vary, I guess. I love their BSCR, which I suppose is very un-sushi if you think about it. Actually I wasn't too impressed the last time I went to the Kabuki in Rancho Cucamonga. I always enjoyed the one in Burbank, though.

LOL, the one in Burbank is what disgusted me (that and Octopus). First time I went to it was in Cerritos and it was 'okay'. Nothing great. And then I lived in Little Tokyo, Downtown LA for a while and that was the end of my visits to Kabuki.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

thanks for the report.

me + my brother really wanted to go one time so we walked all the way to the paradise pier hotel but when we looked over the prices...we couldn't really afford it so we had to settle for some fast food, hahaha.

it's sad they have to close it though.

seeing how the economy is right now, i don't understand why they couldn't try lowering the prices of dishes or offering at least some specials like many other restaurants are doing to keep business flowing...but then again, i know nothing about business, hahaha.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by luvlucy121

It's really pathetic when you think about it... It's actually a very popular restaurant, rated in the top 5 in the Disneyland Zagat book and is usually pretty busy. Of course it has some off season periods however have you ever walked by PCH Grill during peak season, they have four or so parties, now that's sad.... and they're keeping that open!??

The sushi is amazing (and I've had a lot of good sushi around town), but Yamabuki is something really different to me. Of course these are my opinions I'm sure some have their reservations about the restaurant but I really hope Disney thinks twice.

And being Asian myself it's almost a racially geared move in my eyes, but anyway Disney is well....Disney, 'nuff said.

Sorry had to vent...I'm really bummed about this....

It's a typical corporate mentality. They ensured the restaurant would fail by eliminating the popular lunch option and closing the restaurant completely two days a week. (Can you believe the restaurant is currently open a total of 17 1/2 hours per WEEK???)

Once they drastically cut back on the operating hours, I'm sure some brilliant pencil pusher said something to the effect of "Wow, business is getting even worse!" Thus, the excuse they were looking for to close.

I'm sure Yamabuki will be replaced by yet another character buffet; Disney doesn't seem to be able to build anything else. More chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese; I suppose that's what "resonates" with today's guests - at least in Disney's opinion.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

What disgusts me is that this means the one *true* Disney-owned restaurant that actually had some variety is closing. I can't even believe that DL Dining and WDW Dining are operated by the same company. WDW Dining is LIGHTYEARS ahead of DL Dining in terms of quality, service, variety, etc. The decisions being made by DL Dining lately have really lead me to believe that they're looking to become more like Six Flags and less like the Disney we used to know and love. Shame on them.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by surffnutt3000

It's a typical corporate mentality. They ensured the restaurant would fail by eliminating the popular lunch option and closing the restaurant completely two days a week. (Can you believe the restaurant is currently open a total of 17 1/2 hours per WEEK???)

Once they drastically cut back on the operating hours, I'm sure some brilliant pencil pusher said something to the effect of "Wow, business is getting even worse!" Thus, the excuse they were looking for to close.

I'm sure Yamabuki will be replaced by yet another character buffet; Disney doesn't seem to be able to build anything else. More chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese; I suppose that's what "resonates" with today's guests - at least in Disney's opinion.

Isn't that the truth!

Really if they had any brains they would move Yamabuki to Downtown Disney, which could use a nice sushi bar...am I wrong? But I know with budgets..."God forbid" they shell out money for a Japanese restaurant!

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by luvlucy121

Isn't that the truth!

Really if they had any brains they would move Yamabuki to Downtown Disney, which could use a nice sushi bar...am I wrong? But I know with budgets..."God forbid" they shell out money for a Japanese restaurant!

Not wrong at all. Variety is one thing that really fails in the food dept at the Disneyland resort. This is something that Walt Disney World wins ten-fold. They have so many choices for restaurants.

Disneyland wins for having fuller and more complete theme parks but when it comes to dining, not so much.

I've never actually been in, but I thought Catal was supposed to be Spanish, given the name (ugh, those crazy languages. I really must learn more of them!)
I would say that the Jazz Kitchen is Creole, which can be different from American southern. But I'm nit-picky like that, and I have a whole lot of free time right now

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by AliKzam

I've never actually been in, but I thought Catal was supposed to be Spanish, given the name (ugh, those crazy languages. I really must learn more of them!)
I would say that the Jazz Kitchen is Creole, which can be different from American southern. But I'm nit-picky like that, and I have a whole lot of free time right now

Haha kudos to you because I never thought about the actual name of Catal! You're probably right.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

this news makes me very sad im not even a sushi fan but will go to Yamabuki at least twice per trip when my husband and i come down every other month or so from Northern California. The sushi is SO good! I hope it will be there in May so we can go one last time, if they go through with it and close it.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

I'll share more when I've had some sleep, but I wanted to thank you for the pics. Yamabuki has long been on my top list of favorite restuarants at the resort. Right up there with Granvilles, Carnation Cafe, and Wine Country Trattoria. Yamabuki even excels them in some regards as I can almost entirely pin my expanded intrest in Japanese food, particularly sushi, entirely on the first time I ate there in 2001. It was the first california roll I'd ever had, and we all know it's the gateway drug.

Having grown up in the Bay Area, and still living in NorCal, I can't comment on it's prices compared to SoCal sushi. I agree that it's over priced on teriyaki. Sushi, though, is pretty much on par with the BA (anywhere but the cheapest places where you get what you pay for). Even here in Modesto, which has all of three Japanese places that truly thrive on sushi, a sashimi platter is going to run you about 24 bucks. They never include the excellent octopus and scallops that Yamabuki gives you. There diffenately are places with better roll veriety, and cheaper nigiri, but I've always liked that it stuck to the basics, as too many are borderline "fusion" places.

In all of the places I've been to though, there are few I've encountered that truly match the fish quality and preperation. Everything is the right temperature, the octopus never too chewy, and it's one of the few places that knows how to excel at salmon. I'm being very honest when I say that. They are simply the best I've had for sashimi. I miss the old forty piece futamori. The last time I had it was 4th of July, 2006. It was almost closing, and I swear that they gave us forty pieces of squid alone.

A lot of people say there are better cheaper places, and I don't entirely doubt it, especially the cheaper. Any recommendations for ones near the resort are much appreciated.

Yamabuki is quite simple a lost gem in the Disneyland dining rotation. It's location and poor advertising sort of always kept it that special place that only those in the know went to (sort of how the PPH's giftshop is a haven for rare pins). I'll miss the place dearly. As I've said, it pretty much was my favorite place for sashimi. I'll definitely charish the menus I have from it.

Here's a little tidbit for fans of the place. I've yet to try it myself, but some of the chefs have told me how they prepare their salmon. If memory serves, they cover it in kosher salt and refrigerate it for about an hour. They then rinse it, and breifly dip it in rice vineagar. That's supposedly how they bring about the buttery taste that I've only had at maybe two other restuarants. Again, I haven't tried it myself, but I hope it's appreciated.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Thanks for the great story, Tifa. You're right... the sushi and sashimi while on the pricier side, is about right for the more expensive locations and I have to agree about the scallop and octopus on the sashimi plate. Octopus was something I never enjoyed as I found it way too chewy and low on taste. But here, it was excellent and I finished all three pieces. It's still not my favorite thing but at least I know that I can do it if I wanted to.

Soup and teriyaki stuff, that really is overpriced and probably what they'd sell the most of. I think $22 would be more reasonable and even tolerable as most places in Little Tokyo even are $15 and under for those kinds of platters.

I really do hope that Disney finds a way to reinvent the dining program with more variety. Even if they use Monsters Inc as a crutch... I'd be okay with it.

Re: Yamabuki - A Final Visit

Originally Posted by luvlucy121

Isn't that the truth!

Really if they had any brains they would move Yamabuki to Downtown Disney, which could use a nice sushi bar...am I wrong? But I know with budgets..."God forbid" they shell out money for a Japanese restaurant!

Originally Posted by TifaOnACloud

I really hope Disney finds a way to salvage the place or its legacy.

That's the problem; they didn't want to save the place. What's everyone's top complaint? That it's too pricey. Well, who controls the pricing?

A couple years ago, they offered 30 percent AP discounts at both Yamabuki and Granville's/Steakhouse 55 on certain days during a limited period. I went to both restaurants during that time and they were absolutely packed.

I don't necessarily agree with the "bad location" argument either. Sure, if you're at the Tomorrowland Autopia and walking, it's a haul. If, on the other hand, you're a local and driving there for dinner, I can't think of a more accessible Disney restaurant if using valet (or possibly even self) parking.

I miss Yamabuki already, and I'm still planning to go there twice before the 11th!